Women's Initiative for Self Empowerment (WISE)

WISE seeks to empower immigrant and refugee women, girls, and female-identified individuals to succeed through advocacy and culturally competent services. Its goal is to provide academic support and life and leadership skills training to guide participants in becoming self-sufficient members of their community and beyond. Girls Getting Ahead in Leadership is an academic, leadership, and college preparation program for young at-risk immigrant and refugee girls in grades 6th-12th. This program utilizes self-empowerment workshops, consistent academic support, and the development of relationships with college mentors to achieve positive student outcomes. Our number one goal is to help our GGAL girls dream big and create plans to achieve those dreams.

Girls Getting Ahead in Leadership (GGAL) is a college preparation, career exploration, and leadership development program for immigrant/refugee girls in grades 6-12. The program is structured around: 

Educational Workshops: Provide information on planning, financing, preparing for college, and career exploration.

Group Activities/Discussions: Provide resources on organization, time management, self-esteem, public speaking, and other issues that the girls need and want to discuss. Facilitate college campus visits, job shadowing opportunities, and service learning opportunities for participants. 

Support Services: Provide individual assistance in areas of academics, scholarship searches, job/internship research, and personal issues.